Hinge construction in molded receptacles



Feb. 3, 1948. P. J. GRAHAM 2,435,272

' amen couswaucnon m MOLDED RECEPTACLE Filed April 28, 1944 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Philip G-gaham Feb. 3, 1948. P. JQGRAHAM 2,435,272

amen cons'mud'non IN momma moat-mow Filed A' m' 28,1944 2 sheds-sheet 2 Philip J: Geclham 5111' GE @ONS we TION IN MOLDED BEQE i ACL p 3. Graham, Woroester, Mass hy mesne Worcester, ohtts asslgnor,

.- cuts, to Trig, Corporation, ea, a corporation or Massa- Application a a, rose, s rial No. 533.191

6 Claims. (or. rec-so) This invention relates to molded plastic re-' .ceptacles and more particularly to the hinge structure thereof.

Many types of receptacles and the covers thereof are made by pressure molding a plastic material. The standard types of metalhinges are not readily usable for mounting the cover on the container, primarily because of the problems involved in securing the hinge to the molded material. It is desirable that the two parts of the receptacle be so constructed that the two pivotal portions or the hinge may be readily shaped in the initial molding operation and without requiring further machining or other treatment ofthe parts. Also, the hinge structure should be capable of quick assembly without, requiring supplemental rivets and other permanent fasteners. For some purposes, the cover should be held resiliently in either a closed or an open position.

The primary object of this invention is to overcome such problems and to provide a plastic receptacle structure having hinge bearings which may be readily made by an initial injection or other suitable molding operation, and wherein a supplemental locking element may be conveniently and readily assembled and interlocked with the pivoted hinge portions to hold the parts in place.

r element for a molded plastic hinge which may he rely emlcled and l w removed and yet will hold the parts ly in position.

Another object is to provide a construction wherein the locking member is substantially wholly concealed irom view and the receptacle presents a neat and pleasing appearance.

Another object is to provide a construction in which the locking element is concealed from view and may be readily assembled in an irremovable condition so that the box cover is held permanently in place. Other objects will be apparent in the following disclosure.

In accordance with myinvention I have made a molded plastic container and cover therefor which are so shaped as to provide inter-fitting pivotal bearing parts, such as a concave bearing groove on either the container or the cover which forms a seat for an opposed knuckle on the other part. In order to hold the cover-secured to the container, I provide a resilient locking member which is pivotally connected to the cover and interlocks with a shoulder on the container wall. Referring to the drawings illustrating various embodiments of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the line l-l of Fig. 2 which shows one form of a resiliently locked hinge structure;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation oi. the structure of the receptacle;

Fig. 3 is a partly broken away section on the line 3-3 oi Fig. 2; Fig. 4 15's. view of the resilient locking element;

Big. 5 is a view of the structure of Fig. 3, "wherev in the container has a skirt arranged to conceal the hinge lock;

Fig. 6 is a similar view corresponding to Fig. l. but with the skirt arrangement;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing a reversal of the hinge parts with the knuckle on the container;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary end elevation of th structure of 'Fig. '1;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional detail 01' a receptacle of the type shown in Fig. 5 but wherein the pivot of the locking element is concentric with the knuckle;

Fig. 10 is an end elevation of the box of Fig. 11;

Fig. 11 is a vertical section on the line ll-ll of Fig. 10 showing a construction of the general type of Fig. 7 but wherein the locking element is concealed within a groove within the container wall;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary section taken on the line li-li of Fig. 13 showing a pin'holding the a. 1.. element in position;

Fig. 13 is a cross section on the line l3-lt oi Fig. 12; r Fig. 14 is a section on the line lit-id of Fig. 13 showing a further modification wherein the looking wire is held within a. slot in the container wall;

Fig. 15 is a section on the line iii-l5 of Fig. it;

Fig. 16 is" an enlarged fragmentary detail taken on the line lfi-lt of Fig. 1e; Fig. 17 is a rear elevation of the receptacle which has a multiple knuckle on the cover held in place by a locking wire on the outside or the container;

and

Fig. 19 is perspective view of a modified form of locking element. Although the structure may be made 01 various materials, such as wood, metal and glass,

Fig. 18 is a section on the line i8-l8 of Fig. 17;

I have illustrated a special type of receptacle particularly adapted to the structure shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive which is of molded plastic adapted for carrying Jewelry or other suitable material in which the container l and the cover ll of desired shapes are formed as .separate pieces by means of suitable molding operations. The rear wall of the container in is provided with a concave bearing groove or socket i! which opens,

upwardly and serves as a seat for a partially cylindrical, convex knuckle i4 formed as an integral part of the cover. The wall may be thickened to provide sufllcient bearing surface for the knuckle; and as shown this is accomplished by providing a shelf ll extending partway across the box and having its outer wall merging with the box wall. The knuckle and the concave bearing parts need extend only part- 4 cover is removably secured in a pivotal relationship on the container. These parts are secured together in that hinged relationship by means of a separate locking element I8 which may be made of suitable resilient material, such as a spring steel wire, arranged to urge the knuckle Joint parts together. As shown separately in Fig. 4, this may comprise merely a single substantially U-shaped spring wire having inwardly turned pivot ends l8 connected by an extensive resilient portion IS. The pivots I8 are arranged to be inserted into aligned sockets suitably'formed in the ends of the knuckles H. The resilient portion l9 of the wire locking member is shaped to interlock with the bottom face of a narrow lug or shoulder 22' provided by a recess within box-wall or a lug on the outside wall of the container Ill. The locking lug is so positioned that the lock wire is held bent under a resilient tension which serves to draw the knuckle securely into bearing contact with the groove H. The locking element is restrained from lateral movement by the fact that the bottom face of the lug 22 is slightly concaved. Endwise movement of the wire part is prevented by the two vertical shoulders 24 on the outside of the projecting shelf It.

A further feature of the invention involves so arranging the parts that the cover may be held resiliently in either a closed or an open position. To this end, the lock pivots l8 and sockets 20 are located eccentrically relative to the hinge axis as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. When the box cover is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, the wire pivots are inside of a vertical plane through the hinge axis. When the box cover is opened the pivots pass across to the left of the center line, and

thus the resiliency of the stretched wire portion 1 It serves to hold the cover in the open position. as indicated in Fig. 5. The structure is such that no lock is required to hold the cover closed.

As shown in the modification of Figs. 5 and 6, the knuckle joint and lock may be concealed by a flange or skirt 2! that surrounds the outerbox wall. This flange may project downwardly below clamping hinge lock is located in the downwardly opening recess between the skirt and the container; but the lock is arranged as above described on the outside of the container. In order that the hinge lock may be assembled readily. a narrow slot 21 is formed in the part connecting the skirt and container. To assemble the parts, the locking wire pivots are first inserted into the holes of the downwardly projecting bearing knuckle of the cover. Then the cover is put into a bearing position, and the resilient part I9 of the lock wire is inserted through the slot, and readily forced into position beneath the locking lug 22.

The hinge parts may be reversed in position, as illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8, wherein the knuckle 30 is formed on the shell 81 of the wall of the container 32 and the concave bearing .grove 33 is formed as the lower face of a proiection 34 of the cover II. The lock wire it is shaped as shown in Fig. 4, and its ends l8 are inserted into aligned holes on the opposite ends of the portion 34 of the cover in such a position that when the cover is closed the center of the pivots I8 is slightly to the right of the knuckle 3B. When the box coveris opened far enough the'pivots I 8 pass across that dead center line and hold the cover open. The shelf 3| is provided with a shoulder dust to the left of the bearing knuckle 30 so that the rear bottom end of the cover will strike that shelf and prevent the cover from going too far when opened.

The construction of Fig. 9 is one in which the bearing ends id of the lock wire i6 are mounted in pivot sockets 40 which are concentric with the knuckle axis. .The construction is otherwise as above described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. In this construction the lock wire merely holds the cover in position and does not hold it in the closed or opened positions, as above described. It, however, serves as a resilient member which insures that the bearing parts remain always securely in place. In that type of box a suitable lock may be provided as desired to hold the cover closed.

. The constructions as above described are such that the lock wire may be readily removed. For some purposes it is desirable to secure the lock wire permanently in place and to accomplish this as well as to conceal the wire I have provided the constructions of Figs. 10 and 11. In this arrangement the rear wall 42 of the container is made suillciently thick so th'at'it may be provided with a vertical slot 43 of a width capable of carrying the wire lock i6. This slot may taper somewhat so that the wire may move laterally at its upper portion as the pivot ends it of the wire pass over the dead center line. This wire may be held in place by various means and as shown this comprises a pin 44 of plastic material or other suitable substance which is driven into the box wall after the wire has been assembled and in contact with the portion IQ of the wire. The construction may be otherwise as described above with reference to Figs. '7 and 8 wherein the knuckle 45 is in this instance formed as a part of the lower box wall. The box cover II is provided with a concave bearing surface 46 on the lug 41 projecting centrally from the rear end of the cover. The wire is strikes the front wall of the slot 43 when the cover is in a closed position and engages the rear wall of that slot when the cover is in an the bottom of the receptacle and thus form a standard for the latter. In that structure, the

open position. A lip 48 may also be provided at the rear of the bearing knuckle so as to prevent the cover from opening too far.

Figs. 12 and is show a similar construction wherein the wire ltis held in a slotiifl in the rear box wall by a lug or pin 52. As shown. the knuckle 5a is formed as a part of the cover ii and rides in a bearing socket 55 formed by concaving the top rear wall of the container on the opposite sides of the slot 50, as shown. To permit assembly of the wire the cover is provided with a slot 56 on its inner portion. The construction may be otherwise substantially as described above.

In the construction shown in Figs. 14, 15 and 16, the resilient wire 60 is shaped as shown in Fig. 4 except that it is provided with the barbs Bl. The wire 60 is mounted in a vertical slot 82 in the container wall which may be shaped as.

above described with reference to Figs. 12 and 13.

The cover H is provided with a centrally located knuckle 6d and the wire 60 has its inwardly turned ends 65 projecting into aligned eccentric openings in the knuckle. The cover is furthermore provided with a slot 66 which slopes downwardly from the inner face of the cover to the bottom thereof so as to aid in assembling the wire. After the pivot ends of the wire have been inserted into the openings of the knuckle the wire is pushed down into the slot 62 by means of a tool thrust through the slot 66 and the barbed ends 6! are caused to spring the resilient box walls somewhat and thus to be forced into substantially the bottom of the channel of the slot 62. These barbs 6i, however, resist any withdrawal of the wire since they dig into the plastic body material and form their own locking shoulders in the slot walls. This construction, therefore, is one in which the wire is substanportion adjacent to the inwardly turned ends 65 and the wire is not removable so that the parts are permanently assembled.v

The construction in Figs. 17 and 18 shows how similar arrangements may be made inwhich the wire lock it has its ends H turned outwardly instead of inwardly. In this arrangement the cover 12 has an outwardly sloping rear-wall terminating in two spaced members forming the multiple knuckle It. The lower half of the receptacle is provided with thickened portions is beneath the multiple knuckle which flare outwardly and are shaped at their tops to form the concave bearing groove it. A centrally projecting locking lug it serves to hold the horizontal portion of the wire it in position the same as in the construction of Fig. l. The skirt shown in Fig. 5 may be added to any of these constructions without change in the nature of this invention.

In the construction of Fig. 19 the locking e at is provided with an inwardly turned hook ti which is arranged to interlock with the bottom of the receptacle or within a recess formed in the wall of the receptacle. In such constructions the locking shoulder is formed by the bottom of the box itself or by the under surface of the recess or notch cut or otherwise fashioned in the vertical wall of the receptacle. Hence this shoulder may be considered as located on or as accessible from the exterior of the box.

It will now be appreciated that in accordance with this invention I have provided a very simple hinge construction for a molded plastic receptacle in which the hinge is formed solely of the plastic material and wherein the hinge partsare held assembled by means of a spring lock which may be either removably or irremovably assembled. In the constructions of Figs. 1 to 9 inclusive,

I1 and it, the locflng element is secured on the outside of the box and may be readily removed. In the remaining constructions the lock is permanently held in place in concealing recesses. However, in all of these constructions the lock is a resilient member which urges the bearing parts into firm engagement and which engages the container and the cover at points remote from the interior surfaces of the receptacle. The lock, however, does not form any part of the bearing. Hence I may have the bearing surfaces made as large as desired to provide a non-wearable aring surface. Any wear of the plastic material caused by the pivot ends it of the lock wire will, however, not permit the bearing to become loosened since the resiliency in the wire will take up for any wear of the parts. Thus the box hinge will give a long life of useful service. Many other advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art of making molded plastic receptacles. It will also be evident that various constructional changes may be made in the ar= ticle and that equivalent parts may be substituted for those above described. Hence the drawings and description thereof are to be inter-.

cover formed of moulded plastic material, one of said moulded parts being shaped to form a bearing surface, the other part having an integrally moulded knuckle fitting against the bearing surface, said knuckle and bearing surface forming the sole receptacle hinge, one of said parts having two axially aligned pivot sockets parallel with the hinge axis, a wall of the other part having a locking projection which is opposed to and intermediate of said sockets, anda substantially U-shaped locking member having arms terminating in axially aligned pivot ends rotatable within said sockets and a locking base portion between said arms which is interlocked with said projection and continually urges the hinge parts together, said base portion and arms of the U- shaped locking member substantially defining a plane which is parallel at all times to the hinge axis 2. A receptacle according-to claim 1 wherein the aligned sockets are eccentric to the hinge and the locking member is resilient and its swing across the outer ends of the knuckle and.

- tainer having a projecting shoulder opposed to and intermediate of said sockets, and a substantially U-shaped locking member having arms located at the ends of the knuckle and terminating in axially aligned pivots mounted in said sockets and a resilient locking base portion between the arms whichis interlocked with said shoulder and continually urges the hinge parts together,

said base portion and of the U-shaped lockfrom an outer wall of the container which is opposed to and intermediate of said sockets and a substantially U-shaped locking member having arms terminating in axially aligned pivots mounted in said sockets and a resilient locking base portion between the arms which is interlocked with said shoulder and continually urges the hinge parts together, said base portion and arms of the U-shaped locking member substantially defining a plane which is parallel at all times to the hinge-axis.

5. A receptacle comprising a container and a cover formed of moulded plastic material, one of said parts having a knuckle moulded thereon and I the other part being shaped to provide a concave bearing surface mating with the knuckle, said on, the container being shaped to provide a bearing surface for the knuckle, said knuckle and bearing suriace forming the sole hinge tor the receptacle, the knuckle having axially aligned sockets in its ends which are parallel with but eccentric to the hinge axis, a skirt projecting outwardly and downwardly irom the top of the container and forming a downwardly opening recess therebetween, said container having a slot coextensive with the socket openings and substantially therebeneath, a locking shoulder on a wall within said recess beneath the slot, and a substantially U-shaped, resilient locking wire having two parallel arms terminating in axially aligned pivots mounted in said sockets and a resilient'base portion between the arms which is insertable through said slot and resiliently interlocked with knuckle and bearing surface iorming the sole rcially aligned sockets parallel with the hinge axis and near the ends of the hinge. the container which is coextensive with the socket openings, a locking shoulder on a wall within said recess which is opposed to said slot, and a substantially U-shaped resilient, locking member insertable through said slot which has a base portion inter-. lockable with said shoulder and two arms termihating in axially aligned pivots mounted in said sockets, said locking member serving to urge the hinge parts together, and said base portion and arms of the U-shaped locking member substantially defining a plane which is parallel .at all times to the hinge axis.

6. A receptacle comprising a container and a cover formed of moulded plastic material, the cover having a knuckle integrally moulded therehaving a slot opening from above into said recess,

said shoulder to hold the hinge parts together, enured s; new 9118141 B Surugap snanuezsqns ems pedeqsn 8 14 lo smr'c pue uoprod es'eq pres .reaoo am so cnameaour asyapne miuaaard pun amends! an: 10 spue eqi csuwfln mans flurpioq pu'e suns plus time fiultlo'ecnoo 101s tun 3o spua an; at all times to the hinge axis,

rim-re J. GRAHAM.

REFERENCES crrnn The following references are of record in the file 01 this patent:

Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,435,272. February 3, 1948.

PHILIP J. GRAHAM- It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requir' correction as follows: Column 8, lines 19 tov23, inclusive, strike out the inverte words therein, and insert instead the followin the ends of the slot contacting with said arms and holding them against the ends of the nuckle and preventing endwise movement of the cover, said base portion and arms of the U-shaped wire substantially defining a plane which is parallel; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction. therem that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice. I

Signed and sealed this 20th day of April, A. D. 1948.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Oonmim'oner of Patents. 

